Continuing his support for hard-rock mineral exploration in Nevada and other mining states, U.S. Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) on Dec. 21 joined U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke as he ordered the nation’s first geological and topographical survey aimed at achieving U.S. mineral independence.
Following President Donald Trump’s Dec. 20 executive order to end America’s dependence on foreign minerals, Secretary Zinke signed a secretarial order that directs bureaus in the U.S. Department of the Interior to begin efforts on identifying immediate domestic sources for critical minerals.
“I applaud Secretary Zinke for initiating a review of the outdated, job-crushing policies that inhibit our ability to utilize our own mineral resources,” Sen. Heller said during the secretarial order signing ceremony held at the Department of the Interior.
The Nevada lawmaker in January introduced the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act, S. 145, which would streamline the mine permitting process to support domestic mineral exploration and would set requirements for mine permit applications, among other provisions provided in the bill’s summary.
“Nevada is one of the most mineral-rich locations on earth, and hard-rock mining contributes to thousands of jobs in our state,” said Heller, adding that his legislation would help “harness our nation’s true mineral potential and end our reliance on foreign production.”
Additionally, Heller’s bill calls for projects that provide minerals — “vital to job creation, energy infrastructure, American economic competitiveness and national security” — to be considered as federal infrastructure projects under Executive Order 13604, according to the bill’s summary. The order requires federal agencies to speed up permitting and review decisions on such projects.
Under the current U.S. permitting process, it can take seven to 10 years for project operations to begin, as opposed to about two years in Canada and Australia, according to Heller’s office.
Both orders from President Trump and Secretary Zinke follow the Dec. 19 online posting of an 862-page report from the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) determining that the United States sources 20 out of 23 strategic minerals from China.
“Right now, the United States is almost completely reliant on foreign adversaries and competitors for many of the minerals that are deemed critical for our national and economic security,” Zinke said during the ceremony in Washington, D.C.
“As both a former military commander and geologist, I know the risk this presents to our nation,” the secretary added. “The problem is we can’t fix the problem if we don’t know where the minerals are within our own borders.”
Zinke explained that other nations are way ahead of the United States regarding mineral resources mapping, which entices American private-sector investment overseas rather than at home.
“Drafting a complete topographical and geographic survey of the United States is exactly the kind of task the USGS was created to do,” said Zinke.
“I thank Secretary Zinke for his leadership on this issue,” Heller said, “and his work to help allow Nevada and this country to enact a strategy to fully maximize our nation’s mineral potential.”